Tandem Talks

CPO Insights: Leadership, Pressure and the Reality of the Role

Tandem Partners recently brought together a group of senior HR and People & Culture leaders in Melbourne for a Tandem Talks breakfast focused on the evolving role of the Chief People Officer.

Set against a backdrop of ongoing change across workforce expectations, technology and commercial pressure, the session centred on what the role actually looks like in practice today, beyond title and remit.

We were joined by a highly experienced panel:

• Roz Lever, Group Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer, Asahi Beverages
• Kate Nuttall, Chief Diversity & People Officer, Tennis Australia
• Tristram Gray, Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer, Kmart Group
• Natasha Cuthbert, Chief People & Culture Officer, Viva Energy

The conversation, led by Angela Horkings, was open, honest and grounded in real experiences. Rather than theory, the discussion focused on how leaders are managing competing priorities, making decisions under pressure and shaping culture in complex environments.

A few themes came through clearly:

• The CPO role continues to stretch across both strategic and operational demands
• There is increasing pressure to balance people outcomes with commercial performance
• Leadership alignment plays a critical role in driving meaningful change
• The value of peer conversations and shared experiences remains high
• Creating space for open discussion is becoming more important as complexity increases

What stood out most was the level of transparency across the panel. Conversations reflected the realities of the role, not just the expectations, which resonated strongly with those in the room.

At Tandem, creating opportunities for the HR community to connect, share and challenge thinking remains a key focus, and sessions like this continue to reinforce the value of that.

A big thank you to our panel and everyone who joined the session.

Further Resources:

• You can watch the event highlight reel below.